Earth to have close call with recently found asteroid

A recently detected asteroid will pass relatively close to Earth this Monday, attracting the interest of astronomers and space agencies worldwide. Even with the narrow cosmic distance, experts stress that the object poses no risk to the planet and will proceed safely along its trajectory through space.

Astronomers are keeping a watchful eye on an asteroid designated as 2026JH2, a stony body set to sweep past Earth at an estimated distance of nearly 91,593 kilometers, or roughly 56,900 miles. Calculations from the European Space Agency indicate that it will move along a path measuring about one quarter of the typical separation between Earth and the moon, ranking it among the nearest asteroid approaches documented this year. Nevertheless, researchers emphasize that it poses no threat of impact or entry into the atmosphere.

The asteroid was first observed on May 10 by researchers with the Mount Lemmon Survey in Tucson, Arizona, one of several programs dedicated to monitoring near-Earth objects, and once detected, it received the official designation 2026JH2 and was classified as part of the Apollo asteroid group, noted for having orbits that intersect Earth’s trajectory around the sun.

According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the asteroid is expected to make its closest pass shortly before 6 p.m. Eastern Time, and although this moment may seem alarmingly close from a human perspective, astronomers note that events of this kind happen rather frequently across the vast stretches of the solar system.

Why specialists conclude there’s no real cause for concern

Planetary scientists have assured the public that the asteroid poses no danger to Earth, noting it will pass by safely. Richard Binzel, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the creator of the Torino Scale for categorizing asteroid impact hazards, emphasized that objects of comparable size routinely travel between Earth and the moon without generating any problems.

Binzel observes that car-sized or small-bus-sized asteroids routinely pass through Earth’s cosmic neighborhood, and explains that what sets the present apart is that improved detection systems now enable astronomers to spot many of these bodies that once would have gone unnoticed.

At its closest pass, 2026JH2 will remain well beyond the altitude range where numerous geosynchronous satellites operate to support telecommunications, weather forecasting, and broadcasting, and specialists highlight that the object’s trajectory has been rigorously examined and does not intersect Earth’s orbit.

The asteroid originates from the main asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. Researchers explain that collisions among rocks within the belt, combined with the gravitational influence of Jupiter, can occasionally redirect fragments toward the inner solar system. This process has been understood for decades and is responsible for many near-Earth asteroids that astronomers track today.

While the flyby is harmless, the event highlights the crucial role of continuous monitoring in detecting potentially dangerous objects long before they could present any real risk.

The challenge of determining an asteroid’s exact size

Despite direct observations of 2026JH2, astronomers still cannot determine its precise dimensions. Scientists estimate that the object measures somewhere between 15 and 30 meters in diameter, roughly equivalent to the size of one or two school buses. However, that estimate remains uncertain because telescopes observing in visible light only capture how bright the object appears.

Patrick Michel, an astrophysicist and research director at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research, noted that an asteroid’s luminosity offers no straightforward indication of its dimensions, since a sizable but dark body might look dim, while a smaller, highly reflective one can easily appear more radiant.

Astronomers can gauge an object’s dimensions with greater accuracy when they gather infrared observations, because this type of data records heat signatures that align closely with the object’s true scale. However, carrying out infrared measurements from Earth is far more difficult, which means these readings are typically missing during the early identification of near‑Earth objects.

Scientists compare the smallest anticipated size of 2026JH2 to the meteor that exploded above Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013, an event that unleashed a shockwave across the area, shattering windows and injuring more than 1,000 people. At the higher end of current projections, the asteroid could resemble the object linked to the 1908 Tunguska event in Siberia, which flattened vast expanses of forest.

Researchers emphasize, though, that these comparisons speak only to size and not to danger, as 2026JH2 is not anticipated to pass into Earth’s atmosphere. Its path keeps it safely distant from the planet, eliminating any possibility of an airburst or impact.

Future asteroid tracking remains essential

Although scientists are confident that 2026JH2 poses no current threat, experts acknowledge that predicting the long-term movement of asteroids remains a complex challenge. Orbital paths can gradually change over time due to gravitational interactions with planets and other celestial bodies.

Michel observed that although long-term trajectories can never be predicted with absolute certainty, current analyses indicate that no known asteroid poses a meaningful impact threat within the next hundred years. Planetary defense teams persistently track thousands of near-Earth objects to identify any potential shifts in their orbits.

The close flyby also arrives at a time when planetary radar capabilities are more limited than in previous years. Jean-Luc Margot, a professor of planetary sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, pointed out that the collapse of the Arecibo Observatory in 2020 significantly reduced the scientific community’s radar observation capacity. In addition, NASA’s Goldstone radar facility is currently undergoing major repairs.

Without radar data, astronomers face greater challenges in pinpointing the exact shape, rotation, and trajectory of nearby asteroids, and although optical telescopes provide valuable information, radar instruments allow scientists to develop far more precise representations of an object’s movement and physical properties.

Margot explained that astronomers have identified only a small set of near-Earth asteroids similar in size to 2026JH2, and because many of these objects remain faint and compact, they are often spotted just days before their closest approaches, becoming detectable only when their brightness finally meets survey telescope limits.

Space agencies and scientific organizations have been driven by this constraint to increase their investment in asteroid detection and monitoring initiatives, and new observatories along with advanced sky surveys are anticipated to boost discovery rates substantially in the coming years, enabling researchers to compile a more comprehensive catalog of nearby objects.

Apophis expected to provide a historic sky event

As 2026JH2 draws increasing attention for its close flyby, astronomers are already shifting their gaze toward an even more remarkable occurrence expected in 2029, when a significantly larger asteroid named Apophis is predicted to pass Earth at an even nearer distance on April 13 of that year.

Scientists estimate that Apophis will pass roughly 32,000 kilometers from Earth, placing it closer than some satellites that circle the planet, and although this approach is remarkably near, astronomers stress that it presents no threat and regard it instead as an exceptional scientific opportunity.

The flyby of Apophis is expected to become one of the most closely observed asteroid encounters in modern history. Unlike 2026JH2, which will remain invisible to the naked eye, Apophis should be visible from parts of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East without the aid of telescopes.

Events like these give researchers crucial chances to examine asteroid composition, motion, and internal properties while further advancing planetary defense measures, and every nearby passage deepens scientific insight into how such bodies act and how humanity might react should an asteroid one day present a real danger.

For now, astronomers note that the arrival of 2026JH2 mainly highlights how constantly Earth’s cosmic surroundings shift. Small asteroids travel through the solar system on a regular basis, and with advancing technology, scientists are growing ever more adept at detecting them well before they make close approaches.

A livestream of the asteroid’s approach is expected to be broadcast by the Virtual Telescope Project from observatories in Italy, allowing astronomy enthusiasts around the world to follow the event in real time. Although the asteroid itself will remain far too dim for most people to see directly, the flyby continues to capture public curiosity about the many objects that silently travel through Earth’s neighborhood in space.